News

Alcohol and speed are believed to be factors in a single vehicle crash that killed one person west of Colborne Wednesday evening.

A 61-year-old Cramahe Township man was airlifted to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto with serious injuries and is also facing a charge of impaired driving causing death following the on County Road 2.

Around 6:30 p.m., emergency services responded to a report of a car having struck a barn owned by the Cimetta family family on County Road 2.

When crews arrived, a car was upside down and there was a gaping hole in the west side of the barn. The car was heading west and from the skid marks it appears the driver lost control on the corner and entered the south culvert became airborne and struck the barn.

A wheel from the car broke loose from the impact and hit the north side of the barn. The wheel ended up on the east side of the barn.

Sebastian Cimetta had just left the barn only minutes before after completing chores.

"Five minutes later, that tire would have hit me," he said.

The tire glanced off the side door of the barn where Mr. Cimetta exited moments before.

Mr. Cimetta had just entered his home on the opposite side of the roadway when "I heard a real big bang."

Mr. Cimetta knew there had been an accident, but couldn't see any vehicles until he got in his vehicle and drove just past the end of his barn and saw the demolished vehicle upside down in his barnyard.

"I went straight to phone 9-1-1," he said.

Firefighters from Alnwick/Haldimand Township and Northumberland County Paramedics arrived and began extricating the driver from the crumpled car.

The driver was upside down but conscious during the extrication. As the driver was removed from the vehicle, workers made the startling discovery of another person in the passenger seat of the vehicle.

The passenger was pronounced dead at the scene.

County Road 2 was blocked for most of the evening while OPP Technical Traffic Collision Investigators took measurements at the scene.

The driver of the car was transported to Northumberland Hills Hospital and later airlifted to Sunnybrook Hospital.

The name of the deceased has not been released pending notification of next of kin.